Majority of community college students don’t complete programs

Saturday

Oct 23, 2010 at 9:30 AM

Natasha Lindstrom

Just as boosting education levels becomes increasingly vital to driving the economy, a majority of students who seek degrees at California community college drop out before graduating or transferring to a four-year institution, a new report shows.

Nearly 70 percent of degree-seeking students who entered community college in the 2003-04 school year didn't graduate or complete their degrees within six years, according to a report released this week by the nonprofit Campaign for College Opportunity.

At Victor Valley College, about 45 percent of first-time students who started in 2003-04 year earned an associate's degree or certificate, transferred or became transfer-ready within six years, according to Mark Clair, VVC institutional research coordinator. He noted VVC does not have the resources to track students who complete programs elsewhere, and that some students take VVC classes purely for enrichment, such as to learn Spanish.

Mark Zacovic, VVC vice president of instruction and student services, said it's concerning that more students aren't completing higher education programs.

"As a taxpayer, I'm concerned about the money that the state's pouring into the system and are we really getting the results that should be forthcoming with an investment of that magnitude?" Zacovic said.

It's estimated that up to 90 percent of the fastest growing and highest paying jobs require some form of post-secondary education, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education.

In the Victor Valley, roughly 70 percent of residents have no education beyond a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 American Community Survey. Roughly 8 percent have a bachelor's degree.

About one-quarter of degree-seeking VVC students graduate within three years, and 29 percent complete programs within four years, according to Clair. VVC's first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students that began in 2006 transferred to four-year universities at a rate of 19 percent, Clair said.

To read more about the low rates of college completion, see the full story in Sunday's Press Dispatch. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Natasha Lindstrom may be reached at (760) 951-6232 or at nlindstrom@VVDailyPress.com.